Scottsdale, Arizona-based developer Empire Group of Cos. has started construction on its newest build-to-rent community, Village at Pleasant River, which will mark its second BTR project in Peoria, Arizona, and its ninth overall in Arizona’s West Valley, according to a press release shared with Multifamily Dive.
While the Phoenix area has long been a strong employment center for tech manufacturing, with operations for Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Accenture and many others based in the area, Peoria in particular is due to receive a boost from the opening of a new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plant, according to Peoria’s Economic Services Division.
“We anticipate leasing to begin by early 2024 just as the new Taiwan Semiconductor plant is planned to open,” said Richard Felker, founding partner of Empire Group, in the release. “There are also many other companies and organizations coming to the Valley in close proximity to our community.”
The $12 billion chipmaking facility broke ground in 2021. It is expected to begin production in 2024 and add 1,900 jobs to the area over the next five years. TSMC has since announced plans to develop up to five more fabrication sites in the area, investing a total of $35 billion to manufacture up to 100,000 chips per month.
Peoria’s population has grown by tens of thousands over the last decade, up from 154,065 in 2010 to 194,917 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census. On top of this growth, TSMC has moved hundreds of Taiwan-based employees, along with their families, into the Phoenix area to help start operations at the facility, according to the Phoenix Business Journal.
“The chip plant will directly support a few thousand jobs within the next year and will have a compounding economic effect with ancillary companies clustering near the plant to facilitate any outsourced needs,” Felker told Multifamily Dive. “Similar to the impact the Intel Ocotillo Campus had on the evolution of the Southeast Valley in the 1980’s, TSMC’s presence will spur a tidal wave of activity in the North Phoenix submarket.”
Once complete, Village at Pleasant River will offer 297 single-story homes with open floor plans, private backyards with doggy door access, laundry rooms, integrated smart home tech and two parking spaces. The 25-acre gated community will also include a pool, fitness center and community lounge for residents, as well as a dog park, dog wash, walking paths and barbeque and firepit areas.
Correction: In a previous version of the article, the Village at Pleasant River’s unit count was listed as 264. The story has been updated to reflect the current number.
